PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse hits the road one last time during the 2018 regular season, playing at No. 7 Northwestern on Saturday in Evanston, Illinois at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. The game marks the first of two conference games to close out the regular season, as the Scarlet Knights are still alive for a Big Ten Tournament berth, held May 4-6 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Last Time Out
Paige Paratore scored a career-high four goals, including the game winner in overtime to help RU earn a 9-8 victory over Michigan last Thursday night in Piscataway. With just four seconds left on the shot clock, Paratore beat a host of Wolverine defenders and zipped her shot past UM's Alli Kothari to secure Rutgers' first Big Ten win of the season.
Paratore also played hero in regulation, tying the score late in the second period. With Rutgers down 8-7, the West Deptford, New Jersey native sprinted to the left side of the cage, spun back in with a nifty move and drilled an unassisted goal with 9:10 left in the second half. Both teams would hold steady in the final nine minutes to head to overtime.
RU secured its signature win of the season by outshooting Michigan, 35-22, as senior
Joanna Reilly added her third multi-goal outing of 2018. Senior
Kerri Puckhaber, sophomore
Samantha Budd and freshman
Taralyn Naslonski also contributed scores in the victory.
On defense, the Scarlet Knights forced the Wolverines into 16 turnovers with junior
Regina Sharp causing a game-high three turnovers to go along with three ground balls. In cage, classmate
Devon Kearns stopped eight UM shots for another strong performance.
Scouting No. 7 Northwestern
Winners of seven straight, Northwestern enters Saturday's matchup after it downed then-No. 17 Penn State on the road, 17-13, last Saturday. Sheila Nesselbush had four goals to lead the way for NU.
For her efforts in the win over PSU, Nesselbush was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while rookie midfielder Jill Girardi earned the league's Freshman of the Week award.
The Wildcats lead the Big Ten in assists per game (6.5), points per game (21.5) and ground balls per game (22.3). Selena Lasota leads the program with 53 points and 41 goals to go along with 12 assists, while Shelby Fredericks has dished out a team-high 24 helpers, also tops in the Big Ten.
Julie Krupnick owns a 9.64 GAA, a .484 saver percentage and 120 saves for a 12-3 record in cage for Northwestern.
The Series
Northwestern leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 10-0. Despite holding a lead at halftime in their last meeting last season, Rutgers lost to No. 17/15 Northwestern, 14-7, at High Point Solutions Stadium. Then-senior
Amanda Turturro collected her 100th-career point, while then-sophomore
Abbey Brooks added two goals in the loss.
Paratore Filling the Stat Sheet
Paratore has produced 11 multi-goal outings this season, the most for RU in 2018. Paratore has scored two or more goals in seven of her last eight games and has five hat tricks this season.
Paratore saved her best game of the season for a national TV audience, as the senior scored a career-high four goals in the win over Michigan on April 12 on BTN. Paratore's fourth goal came in overtime, as she drilled the game-winning shot with just seconds left on the shot clock to help RU to victory.
100 Draws for Navaroli
With her three draw controls last week against Michigan, senior
Alana Navaroli became the sixth player in program history to reach the 100-draw control mark for her career. She needs 14 more to tie Jenn Vlahos for fifth on the all-time list at Rutgers.
Tough 2018 Schedule
Rutgers possesses one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Scarlet Knights have already played three of the Top-10 programs in the country in No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 James Madison and No. 9 UPenn, and have also faced No. 17 Penn State.
RU closes out the regular season with back-to-back ranked foes in No. 7 Northwestern (April 21) and No. 25 Johns Hopkins (April 28).
Historic Night for Casten
In RU's 14-8 win over Niagara on March 27, senior defender
Amanda Casten tied the program mark for caused turnovers in a single game (seven), also held by Regan Teti (vs. Monmouth on March 20, 1998) and Kristin Checksfield (vs. Hofstra on March 15, 2003). Casten leads the team this season with 24 caused turnovers.
Next Time Out
Rutgers closes out the 2018 regular season with No. 25 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. ET. The game serves as Senior Day and will also be the team's One Love Foundation game.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's lacrosse, follow the program Facebook, and on Twitter and Instagram @RULaxBrand. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with
www.ScarletKnights.com.
